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With iPhone 5, Apple could make 2012 the year of 4G

Friday, January 6, 2012 · 3:45 pm · 17 Comments

“Interestingly, though there are already 4G phones on the market from numerous vendors, most if not all of which run Google’s ‘Android’ operating system, [Sterne Agee’s Shaw Wu] is looking forward to Apple’s (AAPL) introduction of an iPhone running LTE to be a key element this year,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.

The key reason for the excitement is that some believe and our supply chain checks indicate that this is the year where AAPL could have an iPhone with 4G LTE. Sure, HTC, Samsung, and Motorola have shipped smart phones with this technology but have been plagued with battery life issues, as well as spotty network coverage. In addition, none have been able to drive the same type of high volume and broad customer adoption that an iPhone with 4G LTE could have. – Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu

Ray reports, “Wu also has a Buy rating on shares of Apple.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Fred Mertz" for the heads up.]

Categories: News

Tags: 4G, HTC, iPhone 5, LTE, motorola, samsung, Shaw Wu, Sterne Agee

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Comment Feed

17 Comments

Just Do It

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:01 pm · Reply

I want.
DeRS

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:08 pm · Reply

Apple had basically the same design of iPhone for three years (iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs), so it will make perfect sense that next phone will have the same design as 4/4S and be called “iPhone 4G” (the more so there is no room for superthin droplet-shaped iPhone now since 4G technology is super power hungry; only future years might allow that new design).

Also, “iPhone 5″ name makes no sense. iOS will have its 6th version, as well we iPhone itself. So if the device will have new design, it has to be “iPhone 6″ (fifth generation is already taken by iPhone 4S — after iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4).
- Rorschach
  
  Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:29 pm · Reply
  
  Please, will you stop with this rubbish about the naming system. It will be an iPhone 5.
  iPhone/3G/3Gs/4G/4S/5…
  The naming has bugger-all to do with the radio system the phone employs. Why do people like you have such difficulty understanding such a simple policy on Apple’s part.
  - Rob
    
    Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:45 pm · Reply
    
    First off, there is no iPhone4G as you state above. And also, why was there no iPhone2? Apple jumped from iPhone to iPhone3G because the iPhone3G has the 3G radio in it. Jobs specifically stated that in the announcement. Jobs also explained that the S in iPhone3Gs stood for speed as the 3Gs was to be so much faster than the 3G. The iPhone4, I believe, came about as it was the 4th version of the iPhone. And the iPhone4S is here today as it is a faster version of the iPhone4. I truly believe that the next version, being a complete redesign, will be an iPhone6 as it will be the 6th version of the iPhone.
    
    And lastly, how are you the authority on an unpublished policy that Apple is following for it’s naming convention?
  - DeRS
    
    Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:50 pm · Reply
    
    Why do people like you have such difficulty understanding that Apple’s policy about naming was so far this:
    1) by order of appearance: iPhone [1], iPhone 4;
    2) by technology: iPhone 3G [, possibly iPhone 4G this year];
    3) if the design is the same, then use of suffix “S” (initially for “speed”) to the name of previous generation: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S.
    
    There was never case when Apple would name anything by number which did not actually reflect actual order of appearance.
    
    And, guess what, next iOS version, too, will not be called “5″ again, because fifth generation of it already came in 2011.
    
    I am not saying that “iPhone 5″ name is impossible. Just saying that “iPhone 4G” (or, “iPhone 6″) are more likely due to way how Apple practices naming of their devices.
    
    (Nothing to do with whatever my own preferences about names, it is just the way Apple operates in this.)
  - Jonahan
    
    Saturday, January 7, 2012 - 4:22 pm · Reply
    
    Where were you guys on the gorilla glass article?
Bertil Holmberg

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:44 pm · Reply

If the largest telephone company in Sweden cannot make 3G work reliably in the middle of our city, they certainly wont make me pay much more for some whizz kid technology that has yet to prove its worth to the majority of users.
I really don’t believe Apple will screw up its mobiles just to please tech journalists and Android geeks.
- DeRS
  
  Friday, January 6, 2012 - 4:57 pm · Reply
  
  Apple can release LTE iPhone this year and it will not harm 3G or even 2G modes.
  
  It is the same as it was with introduction of iPhone 3G: talking time in 2G network did not decrease because chipset does not use any excessive power when it works with older, slower standards. Currently iPhones have like 14 hours of 2G talk time.
  
  The reason why Apple did not want to release LTE phone back in 2010 and in 2011 is that there was no chipset which would not almost immediately kill battery of the device.
  
  As you correctly said, Apple was never cheap about this and never cared what raving techno maniacs and geeks from media blogs would think about it.
  
  But this year promises new generation of LTE chipsets which will allow new iPhone to work during some considerable time. And it will not tamper with talk time in with 3G or 2G modes.
Derek Currie

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 6:27 pm · Reply

I don’t buy into every piece of marketing BS blasted into my ears and eyes. I pity those who do. Therefore, I have brains enough to know that:

4G Does Not Yet Exist

IOW: All the companies saying they offer ’4G’ are LYING.

Apple agrees. That’s why they Apple won’t release a 4G phone until there actually IS 4G.

So what does “4G” actually mean? Right now it is a TARGET standard that is currently being realized into actual technology. “LTE” does NOT qualify, but it is the closest thing we have. What WILL qualify will be what is called “LTE Advanced“.

Where to start learning the facts about real 4G:
1) 4G @ Wikipedia.org
2) LTE Advanced @ Wikipedia.org
3) IEEE 802.16 (WirelessMAN-Advanced) @ Wikipedia.org
4) LTE Advanced – The Global 4G Solution @ QUALCOMM

Meanwhile: Be skeptical of convenient marketing propaganda.
- MEES
  
  Saturday, January 7, 2012 - 6:15 pm · Reply
  
  I agree.
  
  4G is a joke. This is the reason Apple hasn’t blindly embraced it. I am impressed by the 3G speed on the iPhone 4S. I see no reason why people need to be deceived into accepting 4G or LTE yet. It needs to be developed as a next generation “Standard” rather than a marketing ploy. I’ve tried several 4G devices and I am not impressed.
taojones

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 8:16 pm · Reply

who cares what they call it when can get my hands on it!!!!
Chris

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 8:42 pm · Reply

Whatever they call it, I want one!
MarkyMark

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 9:23 pm · Reply

In the U.S. AT&T has a loooong way to go on LTE deployment, while globally the LTE frequency assignments are all over the place. Not ready for prime time…
ralph from berlin

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 10:35 pm · Reply

the 6th iphone will not be called iphone 5. even the most stupid commentor here should have already learned. either apple calls the phone by its order (iphone, iphone 4) or by its technology (iphone 3g, 3gs, 4s). there is no technology by the name 5. so either they will call it by order (iphone 6) or come up with some new system.
The Architect

Friday, January 6, 2012 - 11:24 pm · Reply

It should be iPhone 6 to correspond with iOS 6.0 and is the 6th phone after all…

iPhone -> iPhone 3G : added 3G Radio, same cpu/gpu

iPhone 3G -> iPhone 3GS : faster cpu/gpu

iPhone 3GS -> iPhone 4 : higher resolution screen, same cpu/gpu

iPhone 4 -> iPhone 4S : 2 cores instead of 1, faster gpu

iPhone 4S -> iPhone 5 : 4 cores instead of 2, faster gpu, LTE, Thunderbolt support, 3D Screen with no glasses required, near field communication, HD video projection capabilities, passive charging, solar cell charging, and SIRI is now a holographic projection of a super hot chick in a Apple Genius uniform. All for $49.00.

Game Over, BOOYA!
Orandy

Saturday, January 7, 2012 - 1:52 am · Reply

@architect

You’re an idiot. 3GS had a 500 mhz risc processor with 256 mb of RAM. iPhone 4 has a 1ghz A4 processor with 512 mb of RAM and a much faster gpu, same as the one used in the original iPad.
- Victor
  
  Saturday, January 7, 2012 - 8:18 am · Reply
  
  Thanks for saving me from saying the exact same thing